Page 104 of Ruthless Vengeance
Before we have a chance to say unnecessary goodbyes, I force myself to let her go so that I don’t do something stupid like cancel this entire operation.
The van Cillianarranged for me is parked exactly where he said it would be.
It’s nothing particularly fancy, just a plain black van with tinted windows. It’s exactly the kind of vehicle that won’t draw much attention, which is good, considering the job I’m about to do.
I climb inside and check the back for any surprises Cillian might have left for me, before getting on the road and heading to my pick-up point.
I hate this. Every damn part of it. But I need to play my role at least for a little while longer.
The roads are completely empty as I drive, my headlights the only source of light.
My mind races as I think of Clara, the baby she carries, Zoe, the women I’m about to meet…
How the fuck did I allow myself to get caught up in this?
I just have to remember that this deal is allowing me the chance to take down Cillian and save a fuck ton of woman who would otherwise be trapped in a life of sex-slavery until they’re no longer of use.
I suppose that’s the one good thing to come out of all of this mess.
The pick-up spot is a remote location about ten miles out of town, in a gravel lot surrounded by thick trees. It’s likely no one would stumble across it unless they knew exactly where to look.
I park the van and get out, my body too pumped full of adrenaline to sit still. I pace back and forth, the cold night air biting at my skin, but I don’t care. If anything, it’s helping to keep my mind sharp.
Not long after I arrive, headlights come through the trees, and I freeze.
This is it.
An almost identical black van rolls up beside mine, and two men climb out of the back. One is holding a phone to his ear, muttering in Spanish, and the other is completely silent. He just circles around to the back of the van and opens up the door.
One by one, ten women climb out of the van, looking absolutely terrified. All of them look younger than Rosa, their faces drained of color, and their eyes trained on the ground as they’re marched over to my van like cattle.
Except for the last one.
She stops dead in her tracks as she looks into the back of my van.
I can see it in her dark eyes that she knows exactly what will happen to her if she gets inside.
But her hesitation has already cost her.
Before she can even consider running, not that she would get far before one of Cillian’s men put a bullet in her back, the second man steps up to her and murmurs something in her ear.
I can’t understand what he’s saying, but the look on her face is enough of a translation.
I can’t even consider intervening. So instead, I stand deadly still, my face a mask of indifference as he grabs her face and kisses her, hard and rough.
She cries out as she bangs her fists against his chest, but he only throws her to the ground like a piece of trash.
My throat burns as his laugh cuts through the night air like a knife.
Every instinct I have is screaming at me to kill these two fuckers, but I can’t. It would cost me too much, and right now I am the only thing standing in the way of these women and their freedom.
I watch in silent horror as the poor girl scrambles to her feet and climbs into the van as tears stream down her face.
I thought I had prepared myself for this moment on the drive over here, but watching as the van doors are shut behind the girl, my stomach threatens to empty itself all over the ground.
All I see in my mind is Rosa’s face. All of those girls looked younger than seventeen, but Cillian has already stripped them of their innocence. Even if I manage to free them, they will carry the trauma of this night for the rest of their lives.
My nails sink into my palms so deep I draw blood. But the pain is giving me something else to focus on besides how much I want to fucking kill those bastards as I get back behind the wheel of the van and drive off to the next location.
